UK named third most generous country after £450m charity donations

By Megan Baynes, PA

The UK has been named the third most generous country in the world after donating more than £450 million between March and August.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, UK residents have made more than nine million donations to people affected by the health crisis, using online giving platform GoFundMe.

Derry was named the most generous city, followed by Cambridge and Edinburgh.

The charity sector has been hit hard this year, with many seeing funding dry up almost overnight as lockdown came into force and events had to be cancelled and shops closed.

Charities have also come under increased pressure for services, with more people turning to them for help.

John Coventry, GoFundMe’s senior international director, said: “The depth and breadth of kindness shown across the UK in 2020 has given us all some inspiration in a year to forget.

“We’ve been humbled to see millions of people coming together on GoFundMe to feed frontline workers, help families in need and support beloved businesses and charities throughout 2020.

“It’s an important reminder that even during such a difficult year, humanity and generosity has shone brightly.”

From funding funeral costs for healthcare staff who died with Covid-19, to a plumber raising money to foot the bill for free work for pensioners, and countless donations to local foodbanks — the UK has climbed two places from last year’s ranking of fifth.

Britain’s largest fundraiser made more than £1.2 million for the UK branch of Black Lives Matter and £530,000 for Black Minds Matter UK.

The largest single person GoFundMe raised more than £186,000 for Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong, 28, a pregnant nurse who died with Covid-19 in April.

Nearly 30% of donors gave more than once, with the most prolific giving 145 times to 139 different fundraisers.

The most popular day for giving was June 3, with 55,000 donations.

The UK’s most generous cities were:

1. Derry/Londonderry

2. Cambridge

3. Edinburgh

4. Bath

5. Luton

The most generous countries based on the number of donations per capita were:

1. Ireland

2. United States

3. United Kingdom

4. Canada

5. Australia

6. The Netherlands

7. Italy

8. Luxembourg

9. Switzerland

10. Denmark